Posted by DirtBag on August 16, 2009, 6:20 pm
Hi,
My present plot is 6'x12'. The 6' side is up against a fence, and the
12' side is up against the house. Yup, I'm walking through the garden to
tend to the veggies. Not good.
I'm planning on installing some raised beds next year.
I'm planning two beds:
1) 2'x12', up against the house
2) 3'x12', set 1' away from the other bed.
This way I can access the 2' bed, from one side, and the 3' bed from both
sides.
However, this leaves a 1' path between in which to walk?
Does this 1' seem wide enough? Should I narrow my 3' bed to 2' and spend
the remaining foot widening the path?
Any guidance appreciated.
Posted by David E. Ross on August 16, 2009, 6:57 pm
On 8/16/2009 3:20 PM, DirtBag wrote:
> Hi,
>
> My present plot is 6'x12'. The 6' side is up against a fence, and the
> 12' side is up against the house. Yup, I'm walking through the garden to
> tend to the veggies. Not good.
>
> I'm planning on installing some raised beds next year.
>
> I'm planning two beds:
> 1) 2'x12', up against the house
> 2) 3'x12', set 1' away from the other bed.
>
> This way I can access the 2' bed, from one side, and the 3' bed from both
> sides.
>
> However, this leaves a 1' path between in which to walk?
>
> Does this 1' seem wide enough? Should I narrow my 3' bed to 2' and spend
> the remaining foot widening the path?
>
> Any guidance appreciated.
Use stepping stones to make a meandering path through your existing bed.
Plant tall vegetables to either side of this path and low vegetables
between the stones.
If you do make raised beds, leave at least 6 inches between the house
and the nearest bed. Otherwise, you might have a problem with dryrot or
termites in your house walls.
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>
Posted by FarmI on August 16, 2009, 7:24 pm
> My present plot is 6'x12'. The 6' side is up against a fence, and the
> 12' side is up against the house. Yup, I'm walking through the garden to
> tend to the veggies. Not good.
> I'm planning on installing some raised beds next year.
> I'm planning two beds:
> 1) 2'x12', up against the house
> 2) 3'x12', set 1' away from the other bed.
> This way I can access the 2' bed, from one side, and the 3' bed from both
> sides.
> However, this leaves a 1' path between in which to walk?
> Does this 1' seem wide enough?
No, it doesn't seem wide enough TMWOT.
Posted by Balvenieman on August 16, 2009, 10:40 pm
>Does this 1' seem wide enough? Should I narrow my 3' bed to 2' and spend
>the remaining foot widening the path?
>Any guidance appreciated.
Make the effort to go ahead and build free-standing beds.
Disregarding the possibility of damage to your house, you are almost
certain to need access to all sides of all beds even though they may be
only 2' wide. No, 1' is not nearly wide enough. You'll need room for
tools, baskets, flats, containers, wheelbarrow, cart, etc. not to
mention working room between beds of tall or trellised veggies. Been
there: DW built our original raised beds many years ago and after the
first season we found ourselves rebuilding virtually all of them in
order to allow more room between. A needless exertion that could have
been prevented with a little forethought.
--
Running on single malt in U.S.A.
Peninsular Florida,
USDA zone 9b
Posted by DirtBag on August 16, 2009, 10:56 pm
Balvenieman said
>
>>Does this 1' seem wide enough? Should I narrow my 3' bed to 2' and
>>spend the remaining foot widening the path?
>>
>>Any guidance appreciated.
> Make the effort to go ahead and build free-standing beds.
> Disregarding the possibility of damage to your house, you are almost
> certain to need access to all sides of all beds even though they may
> be only 2' wide. No, 1' is not nearly wide enough. You'll need room
> for tools, baskets, flats, containers, wheelbarrow, cart, etc. not to
> mention working room between beds of tall or trellised veggies. Been
> there: DW built our original raised beds many years ago and after the
> first season we found ourselves rebuilding virtually all of them in
> order to allow more room between. A needless exertion that could have
> been prevented with a little forethought.
Ok, I'm coming around ... ;-)
I'm thinking of 4 beds, each 2'x5', each separated with a 1.5' path along
the 5' side
Alas, these beds are placed 1' from the side of the house.
This fits within my 12.5' x 6' rectange pretty well.
I guess when I start actually building these, things may change. ;-)
Thanks for all your guidance.
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>
> My present plot is 6'x12'. The 6' side is up against a fence, and the
> 12' side is up against the house. Yup, I'm walking through the garden to
> tend to the veggies. Not good.
>
> I'm planning on installing some raised beds next year.
>
> I'm planning two beds:
> 1) 2'x12', up against the house
> 2) 3'x12', set 1' away from the other bed.
>
> This way I can access the 2' bed, from one side, and the 3' bed from both
> sides.
>
> However, this leaves a 1' path between in which to walk?
>
> Does this 1' seem wide enough? Should I narrow my 3' bed to 2' and spend
> the remaining foot widening the path?
>
> Any guidance appreciated.